A Bowling Green woman is choosing to be better – not bitter – following the unexpected death of her brother, passing on his trademark kindness to local nonprofits.

Scott Bolt, 47, died in a utility vehicle accident in February of 2021.

“Grief, no matter what, is difficult when you lose a loved one,” said Beth Lowder, Bolt’s younger sister. “When it happens unexpectedly, I think it kind of takes a toll.”

Lowder said Bolt was “truly my best friend,” and that her two young kids “adored their Uncle Scott more than anything.”

“When people talked about him and remembered him, it was always just about his kindness and how kind he was,” she said. “I closed his eulogy with, ‘the best way to leave here today and remember Scott is to go out and be kind.’”

In the wake of Bolt’s passing, she asked herself if there was a way to keep his flame burning.

“What can I do to keep my brother’s life and legacy alive? Especially for our children,” she said.

One suggestion Lowder got from friends was to start a scholarship fund. She wanted to go bigger.

“That’s great, but I wanted to help as many different people and organizations as possible,” she said.

This desire to help led to the creation of the Scott Bolt Be Kind Club. Lowder described her grassroots charity, founded in March of 2022, as a “one-woman operation with a lot of support.”

Lowder selects a different nonprofit to support each month, posting its given wishlist on the club’s Facebook page.

The club has worked with 15 nonprofits so far, including Room in the Inn, Santa for Seniors and Kids on the Block. Lowder is accepting donations for the Boys and Girls Club of BG for the month of June.

“This was a way to find the hidden gems that are out there that might not get the exposure some of the bigger-name organizations get,” she said.

Recent successes include: dropping off a trunk of food and a $500 check to LifeWorks at WKU, giving $1,000 to the Barren River Area Child Advocacy Center and sending a pile of toys and games to Curbside Ministries.

She brought the idea to her parents before starting up the club. They were supportive, but didn’t expect it to benefit so many nonprofits.

“My dad will tell you now, ‘I thought for the first month or two you might get some takers,’ but he didn’t expect it to continue the way it has,” Lowder said.

Things have gone so well that Lowder and her husband, Brian, are turning the club into an LLC.

“In the beginning, we wanted to see how things progressed. Given how well it’s done over the past year or so, we wanted to take it to the next level by formalizing things,” Brian said. “Hopefully, the next level will be taking it to nonprofit status. That’s where we plan to go.”

Besides providing aid to good causes, Beth said this has been a way for her family to process their grief and teach her kids that good things can come out of bad.

“When someone is taken from you so tragically and unexpectedly, you didn’t get to say goodbye and you’re in a pandemic, the grief is strong,” she said. “I didn’t want my kids to live a life of grief, I wanted us to process this in the healthiest way possible.”

Her family’s faith has guided them through the grieving process, “along with the support we’ve gotten from the community.”

Beth remembers her mother telling her she had the choice to be bitter about Bolt’s passing or to be better.

“And that just stuck with me,” she said.

Beth said Bolt was the kind of uncle to attend the kids’ sporting events, put on impromptu dance parties and throw sleepovers.

“My kids called him the ‘bearded funcle,’ the fun uncle,” she said. “He kinda got on the growing-out-a-beard phase, so for Christmas right before he passed my kids got him a T-shirt that had the definition of a ‘bearded funcle.’ ”

Beth, Bolt’s younger by five years, said the pair never fought. She said he was a steady rock for her throughout childhood.

“There’s not a day that goes by that I don’t think of Scott or we don’t talk about him,” she said. “We say our prayers every night that Uncle Scott is up in heaven watching over us.”

Donations can be dropped off in bins at Lowder & McGill’s law office, Jim Johnson Nissan or at Ted Strode Insurance – Kentucky Farm Bureau. Those wishing to donate funds can Venmo Lowder at @Beth-Lowder, with all proceeds going to the month’s partner.